It would seem political correctness prevailed even back during the big bloodletting. The military should screen it's officers very thoroughly before giving them the command over others' lives. Captain Cooney should never have been issued a uniform much less been promoted to such a high field rank. Most of these old 40's and 50's war films leave me colder than a dead kraut but this was way above the fold. Yes, some of the special effects were a bit tame and a couple of the sets looked like what they were, but this was one gritty, ugly tale of the horror and waste of combat. The entire cast was excellent in their portrayal of soldiers in a hopeless situation. Many familiar old faces in this one, most of whom are no longer with us.

Having liked a lot of Jack Palance and Lee Marvin's work, and after hearing Attack described as one of the best films for both actors, I watched Attack with high expectations...and fortunately was not let down at all.

Attack may not fit the definition of visually stunning, but it's very professionally photographed, is shot in crisp black and white that still looks good now and the claustrophobic production values are entirely appropriate for the atmosphere and setting of the film and come off very effectively. The score drives the action well and doesn't feel out of place or cheesy.

The script is poignant, hard-hitting and remarkably honest, without trying too hard, it gets a touch melodramatic towards the end but not dreadfully so, just in comparison to the rest of the film. Attack also has a very compelling story, with action/war scenes that pulsate with intensity and suspense, emotional moments that are genuinely heart-wrenching rather than overwrought and Palance's climatic scene has got to be one of the most harrowing in a war film. While Attack may have unpleasant characters, it doesn't neglect to make them interesting and in the end these unattractive characters are also ones that are easy to care for and relate to, ones where it is also easy to understand their actions. It's very skilfully directed by Robert Aldrich, who never lets the tension slip and makes the story constantly engrossing while avoiding the dangerous traps it could easily have fallen into.

Lastly, to say that the cast are very strong is an understatement, the acting is top-notch and there are a few career-bests here. Coming off particularly well is Jack Palance who has never been better in an unforgettably gut-wrenching portrayal, and while Lee Marvin has had meatier characters in his career he still gives his role here his usual steely intensity. Eddie Albert is skin-crawlingly good too, while his character is a weasel and malevolent at times in the second half of the film it was surprising at the amount of sympathy I felt for him. Buddy Ebsen is impressive and William Smithers plays one of the film's most sympathetic characters very believably, to the extent that one wonders why he didn't do more films.

To conclude, an unforgettably powerful film that has the acting and its emotional impact as its main strengths. 9/10 Bethany Cox

'Attack' was a violent exposé of a lack of courage and perversion among American officers fighting the Germans in Belgium; a completely anti-romantic expression of disgust with war, and, more specially, the war machine, with its breakdown and its own ridiculous brand of bureaucracy…

Jack Palance and Eddie Albert played, at different types of psychic disturbance, two officers who struggle on the battlefield — the one an efficacious, trustworthy, but disillusioned hero-typed, the other a cowardly sadist…

Lee Marvin was the cynical high-ranking officer who treats war as a political farce, mindless of the pain and distress of the ordinary soldiers…

Despite an inevitable over-fondness for the dramatic values of combat and the ferocious of men at arms, this was a convincing, truthful try to demythologize war — which, had it been set up in a lower key with fewer psychiatric reverberations, would have come nearer to being what Aldrich was struggling to achieve, 'a sincere plea for peace'.